Editor’s note: We updated the infographic below on Nov. 6, 2014, to reflect revised percentages following a more in-depth analysis of the data from our recent Trade Promotion Landscape Analysis.

It’s no secret that bringing a product to market is only half the battle. As all companies and brands know, the rubber meets the road when customers start buying. And that’s where promotion comes in to play—in a big way. In fact, consumer product companies spend about $1 trillion each year on trade promotions. Much of that, however, is poorly spent. In a recent review of more than 800,000 UPCs and 92 million promotion event weeks totaling $213 billion in U.S. retail sales across 75 retail banners across channels, Nielsen found that two-thirds of promotions don’t even break even. But some manufacturers have managed to crack the code, and their promotions perform five times better than the least efficient promoters.